When were Kanavalau and Kavalyou executed?

Euroradio noticed that two state leader's decrees are missing in the list of decrees, published in March, between Nos. 120 and 123, signed on March 1 and 2 correspondingly. The pardon denial was reported only on March 14.

There was another document signed by the President and not published - the decree No. 129 could have been signed between March 6 and 12. However, it could relate to just one of the convicts.

"I think that they were executed in the evening on March 11, as when they called us on Friday (March 9) they told us that the meeting would be allowed on Sunday (March 11), and mother asked whether we could come on Monday as there might be problems with tickets, and they said no, only on Sunday", - says Uladzislau Kavalyou's sister Tatsyana.

This was Kavalyou's last meeting with his mother and sister. According to our calculations, his pardon appeal had already been declined by then. It is unknown whether he knew about it.

"He was in a weird mood, he was upset and kept asking when the lawyer would come to him. Maybe he guessed and maybe he knew. It was obvious that he was scared of something".

It became known that the sentence had been executed only on March 17. Kavalyou's lawyer tried to meet with him on March 14 and 15. On the first day, the detention center's administration did not let him in with no explanations. On the second day, they told him that the convict had been transferred to another prison. Usually, prisoners are sent to the Valadarski street detention center where death sentences are executed.

"We didn't manage to file a supervisory appeal. We only filed a request that the convict's lawyer wanted to meet with him in order to prepare the main appeal", — Tatsyana says. However, he failed to meet with him. Kavalyou filed the appeal long ago, the appeal was considered and declined. In his appeal he asked not to execute the sentence until the main appeal was considered.

"There are no set terms for filing a supervisory appeal with regard to a criminal case, it may be filed anytime, — says lawyer Tamara Sidarenka. — However, a supervisory appeal does not suspend execution of the sentence. The appeal can contain request to postpone it. An official who considers an appeal has a right, but not an obligation, to postpone execution of a sentence until a supervisory appeal is considered".

Formally, nothing could prevent Belarus from executing the sentence, if only consideration of Kavalyou's appeal in the UNO. However, this is not the first time when Belarus did not consider this an obstacle.

The position of the Human Rights Committee, besides, is known: Belarus seriously violated its legal obligations by executing Kavalyou's sentence. The Committee's Chairperson has said this and reminded that "it was not the first violation of the kind".

Euroradio has found out that Kavalyou sent his last postcards to his family on March 8. He wrote "Happy March 8, Sis! I wish you all the biggest and the happiest!! Love you, kisses, hugs! Brother."